Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROK. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $266,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in shares of Rockwell Automation in the 3rd quarter worth about $547,000. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Rockwell Automation by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens raised shares of Rockwell Automation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Rockwell Automation from $345.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Rockwell Automation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $308.05.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 1.2 %

Rockwell Automation stock opened at $302.89 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $286.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.66. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $242.81 and a 52 week high of $308.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.35.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 30.17%. Research analysts forecast that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.31 dividend. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Rockwell Automation’s dividend payout ratio is 65.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Rockwell Automation news, CEO Blake D. Moret sold 1,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $338,553.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,754 shares in the company, valued at $24,690,525.54. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Genereux sold 279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.13, for a total transaction of $82,620.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,111.83. The trade was a 8.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,240 shares of company stock valued at $10,800,555. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Rockwell Automation Company Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.